Rethinking the Role of Grain Banks in China’s Agriculture

Teng Li, Deyi Zhou, Amar Razzaq and Qing Wang
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Teng Li: College of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1 Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430070, China
Deyi Zhou: College of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1 Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430070, China
Amar Razzaq: College of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1 Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430070, China
Qing Wang: College of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, No. 1 Shizishan Street, Hongshan District, Wuhan 430070, China

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: Grain banks are an organizational innovation and unique phenomenon in China that help reduce food losses and food security costs. It collects scattered food from the farming community into centralized storage and circulates it, thereby realizing asset mobilization and appreciation. This article first elaborates on the definition, function, and evolution of China’s grain banks through a literature review. Then, we used survey data of face-to-face interviews and field visits to a grain bank company in Hubei Province to analyze the economic rationale of grain bank development, including micro and macro conditions of grain bank development and its operating mechanisms. In addition, from the perspective of key stakeholders such as farmers, grain bank companies, and the government, we also studied the challenges of grain banks. We found that, in addition to providing many economic and social benefits in the form of food security and improved farmer income, grain banks still face many challenges in the new era. These include the ambiguity of property rights, lack of institutional structure, low efficiency of state-owned grain banks, and exploitation of loopholes by grain dealers. We propose to implement the supply-side reforms, clarify property rights, improve the supervision and management of grain banks, promote the privatization of grain banks, and take advantage of rural finance to realize the industrialization of the whole sector.

Keywords: grain banks; food banks; food security; economic effects; economic reforms; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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